The ruler of Dark Lands are many, and while their influence may vary, there is no pecking order to them. As long as an individual have the guts, intimidation factor, and base, they are as good as complete as the feudal lords around.
Among the Dark Lands' leaders is a vampire, the first of many, peacefully drinking a chalice of blood while he basks naked under the crescent moon.
"The empire is really slacking hard. What are they doing leaving that ancient elven ruin to the elves? They must be going senile… Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Long white hair as white and messy as onion grass, and eyes of pure crimson blood. He is none other than Juren of Greed, one of the seven vampire primal-born of the empire.
"Don't be like that, your lordship. His majesty will not like the way you address the empire." One of his vampire slaves warns him, his most devout attendant, Angelica, a blonde beauty with similarly crimson eyes.
"Aw~! Bugger off will ya? Have a little fun. What can I do if the empire is really slacking? They must thank me for objectively and honestly criticizing it. The standards nowadays are just terrible! Ruling over the Dark Lands as a small-time overlord is not really fun at all."
Juren complains as he walks back and forth, his bloody drink swaying from the glass.
"I can have more, you know? Angelica, I can have more! My assets are wasted here. His majesty only needs to give the word, and we'll punish the elves, and conquer the Allied Kingdoms already!"
Angelica shakes her head.
"We cannot, your lordship, and while his majesty is not a fan of giving explanations, I believe I have one."
"Fire away, sugar…" Juren casually lies off on the cold concrete tiles and idly listens to Angelica's explanation.
"Our family has been here in the Dark Lands for 800 years. Surely, there is a purpose for our existence here. The emperor did not give clear orders but simply asks us to conquer the Dark Lands. At first, I am thinking that maybe the recently discovered elven ruins are the subject of our invasion, but no. It has always been the same— it is for the sake of the unification of humanity. At this point, the elves might be necessary for the realization of his majesty's ambition. We need a villain, a monster who will play the role of the antagonist, and the Elf King himself fits the bill perfectly for that. Because of this, our role of 'corrupting' the Allied Kingdom's side might change its nature."
At the end of Angelica's explanation, Juren guffaws and falls into hilarity. He laughs wheezing hard. "Fuuuck~ that is lit, my girl. What are the chances of the emperor asking us to offer aid to the elves?"
"A 100%" Comes Angelica's confident reply. "In fact, there has been a missive a few minutes ago. I have our appraisers make sure it is the legitimate letter of his majesty."
Angelica adds. "Almost all of Dark Lands' leaders are now under our control. We have blackmail, benefits, and contracts to bind them. I believe that with the right push, we can move the elves in the direction we desire."
"Brilliant," Juren stands and embraces Angelica in a hug. "I just freaking love you… Among the seven vampire families, we might just be the first to prove that we vampires are not failed experimentations. We will prove to the emperor we have the right to sit beside him as the gods of the new world."
With a sickening smile, Juren raises his right hand and imagines himself grabbing the crescent moon above him.
A vampire slave comes to Juren reverently handing a scroll of paper. It is the emperor's nameless decree. Because it is namelessly referring to the emperor as a form of secrecy, it goes by a nameless decree. The emperor even has a different insignia that possesses a unique marking invisible to the naked eye to accompany these nameless decrees.
Juren reads out the content of the letter with inert euphoria.
"Thrall the leader of the elves. Try to own them. If not, then exploit them, and control them. Failure is not an option."
At the end of reading the letter, Juren's smile only grows wider and more manic as he adds. "Great. Very succinct, and very open to interpretation. Just the way I love it."
The creatures of the night, vampires, are just among the few results of the empire's mass experimentation using their understanding of their sciences and accumulation of mysticism knowledge. As a civilization, the empire is the lynchpin of the human race from which many other 'domains' learns.
So much is being kept secret from the populace. For one, the fact that there is only one continent Ezelea is a lie when in fact other continents do exist albeit smaller. For two, the empire's gods which this day remains a direct object of worship among several races.
Juren has been existing for more than 5000 years, a generous time for a meager 'mortal'. He knows a lot about the current world. The lies of the empire, and their immeasurable power.
"We will circumnavigate the Gaia Ruins. Leave a few of our spies to monitor Gaia. Buy a few elf slaves from the Allied Kingdoms even if it is premium. I will not allow mistakes in this endeavor. As the elves have tight control of the elf population here in the Dark Lands, we cannot buy the elves locally."
At Juren's words, Angelica takes notes with focus.
"Our plan is simple, I will sire a few elves with my blood, and from there… we will establish a new business firm as a front using the vampire elves as figureheads. I am not so sure selling 'immortality' will work for these elves, because of cultural differences… I don't know… I guess I am just playing with words. Any suggestions, Angelica?"
Angelica gives it a thought for a second and longer. "I will set up a marketing team. We cannot sell immortality, but vampires have other powers too. I am pretty sure any intelligent race will want a piece of that power."
"Yeah, do that. That's brilliant. From what I hear, elves are pretty lazy. A vampire's thrall skill is the perfect tool to enslave others. Moreover, we can tap into their anti-humanist hate. There is no way they will not hate humanity after all of the centuries of oppression."
An eerie laugh leaks from Juren's mouth.
It is true. No intelligent mind can resist the allure of a vampire's powers. Mostly it is immortality that is the most competitive selling point that attracts customers. While the thought of the elves, disregarding the gift of immortality, there is no way they will not be moved by the easy gain of power.
The way Juren's organization is set up speaks greatly of this allure after all. From humans, dwarves, goblins, orcs, and tribals to other demi-human races who have received Juren's blood, it is quite obvious how incredible the attraction the power of a vampire brings.
"While our elf vampire's new storefront is busy gathering customers, we will be sending mercenaries from the seas. If we press enough, we can then have our elf representatives broker a deal with those from the Gaia Ruins."
Juren's tone has excitement in it, and slowly, a deep shade of pink colors his cheeks.
"The day we are able to get an audience to the royal elf king, I will then join the delegation to strike them where it hurts the most. Of course, I have no plans of killing them. Maybe I will kill a few, but I will definitely turn the King into one of my minions."
"It is marvelously put, your lordship."
"Right? Angelica, this is just too awesome! I think this will be the first time I will have a King as my slave. The stupid lord of envy who is frolicking in the Allied Kingdoms keeps on bragging last millennia that he has a King servant you know?"
The chatter continues.
And it dies and fades away from the sound of pleasure, and lovemaking of the vampire, Juren, with his closest attendant, Angelica.
Truly an obnoxious snob.
Since discovering the Gaia Ruins, the elves have become so much more. From the darkness and the dim of the moonlight, a dark raven with luscious feathers watches the 'vampire' ignorantly engage with his merriment.
If a person is to look closer, they will realize, the raven appears to possess an aloof aura and condescending smirk.
There is so much to learn about the empire.
And to think, one in the Dark Lands so readily presents itself on a silver platter.